The iPhone 5, New iPod touch, Renovated Nano and More From Apple

Yesterday Apple announced some awesome new versions of its state of the art gadgets and technologies, including the long awaited iPhone 5, a brand new iPod touch, a renovated iPod nano, the amazing iOS6 and a whole lot more!  Get ready. Here’s the scoop:

iPhone 5 - “The thinnest, fastest, lightest iPhone ever”

• Brand new 4  inch Retina display screen  with fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating (4-inch IPS 1,136 x 640) - Updated from 3.5 inch screen on the 4s
• Longer design to accommodate for the display, allowing for an extra set of apps on the home screen
• 20 percent lighter - compared to 4s
• 18 percent thinner - compared to 4s
• Brand new A6 chip aimed to make performance and graphics twice as fast - Updated from A5 chip on the 4s
• Features the brand new iOS6
• Display has touchscreen sensor built-in —”Pixels act as touch-sensing electrodes while displaying the image all at the same time.” Apple says the iPhone 5 is the only phone on the market with this technology.
• iSight camera allows you to shoot in panoramic view (240 degrees) - no combining still shots, just pan the phone and it creates a panoramic photo
• 40 percent faster picture capture
• FaceTime now available on WiFi and Cellular via iOS6
• Better 720p front camera with new backside illuminated sensor
  
• Updated microphones and built-in speakers
• Microphones on front, back and bottom which enhance voice/recording quality – they also contain specialized noise canceling
• Enhanced battery life - 8 hours of 3G talk time, 8 hours of LTE browsing, 10 hours of Wi-Fi browsing, 30 hours of video and 225 hours of standby.
• Faster web surfing with LTE capability
• Uses new “Lightning” dock connector
• Aluminum and glass body
• Enhanced precise manufacturing (from apple website: “During the assembly process, each iPhone 5 aluminum housing is photographed by two high-powered 29MP cameras. A machine then compares the images with 725 uniquely cut inlays to find a precise match.”)
• Colors: Black and Slate / White and Silver
• WiFi : Dual-band 802.11 a/b/g/n
• Weight: 112 grams / 3.9 oz
• Dimensions: 123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6mm
• Comes with: Apple EarPods with Remote and Mic, Lightning to USB Cable, USB Power Adapter

Price: $199 16GB, $299 32GB, $399 64GB

Check out all of the official specs here.

The White iPhone 5

The Black iPhone 5

The White iPhone 5

New Lightning connector

Panoramic camera function

Picture taken with iPhone 5 – not retouched.

iPod Touch 5th Generation - “Engineered for maximum funness”

• 4 inch retina display with fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating
• Multi-Touch technology built into the glass
• Features the new iOS6, offering Siri capability, in addition to Facebook and Twitter integration
• iPod touch loop attachable/detachable handle
• Comes in 5 colors + (PRODUCT) RED = 6 colors
• Thin and Light design
• Comes loaded with apps like iMessage, Facetime, Notification Center and more
• 5 megapixel iSight camera (7 times better than the previous generation) featuring advanced optics, tap to focus, an LED flash, and face detection
• Backside illumination
• Panoramic picture feature
• FaceTime HD camera with 1.2MP photos and HD video (720p) up to 30 frames per second
• 1080p HD video recording
• Dual core A5 chip (2 times the processing power and 7 times faster graphics than the previous generation)
• Battery Life: 40 hours of music or 8 hours of video on a single charge
• Height: 4.86 inches (123.4 mm)
• Width: 2.31 inches (58.6 mm)
• Depth: 0.24 inch (6.1 mm)
• Weight: 3.10 ounces (88 grams)
  
• WiFi: 802.11a/b/g/n
• Uses new Lightning connector
• Comes with:  apple earpods, ipod touch loop, lightning dock connector

Price: from $299

Check out all the official specs here.

iPod Nano 7th Generation - “Completely renanoed”

• The thinnest iPod ever made - 38 percent thinner than generation 6 nano
• 2.5-inch multitouch screen
• NEW Bluetooth 4.0 capability
• Support for Nike+ gear built in
• Comes in 7 colors + (PRODUCT) RED = 8 colors
• Uses NEW Lightning connector
• Functions: music, video, radio, photos, podcasts, fitness
• Accessibility features to help people with disabilities: voiceover, invert colors, mono audio
• Battery Life: Up to 30 hours of music,  up to 3.5 hours of video
• Height: 3.01 inches (76.5 mm)
• Width: 1.56 inches (39.6 mm)
• Depth: 0.21 inch (5.4 mm)
• Weight: 1.1 ounces (31 grams)¹
• Comes with: Apple EarPods, Lightning to USB Cable

Price : $149

Get all the official specs here.

iOS6 - “It takes your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch in entirely new directions”

Over 200 new features are on the way with iOS6. Updates  include:

• Passbook: your boarding passes, movie tickets, retail coupons, loyalty cards, and more inside this neat app
• Enhanced Siri
• Facebook Integration
• Shared photo streams
• FaceTime that works over cellular networks as well as Wi-Fi
• New calling features:  instantly reply with a text message or set a callback reminder when you decline a call, turn on Do Not Disturb function and you won’t be bothered — except for priority “can’t-miss” contacts
• Enhanced web browsing
• Camera with panorama feature
• Better Maps
• Updated Find My iPhone
• Updated Find My Friends
• Redesigned mail
• Remodeled iTunes, App Store, and iBookstore
• More accessibility features for the vision, hearing, learning, and mobility impaired

Apple EarPods - “Redesigned from the sound up”

Brand new headphones created by Apple after testing 124 different prototypes on over 600 people.

They’ll ship with the  iPhone 5 in addition to the new iPod touch and nano. They can also be purchased individually.

The Earpods are designed to fit numerous different ear types and aim to:

• rest comfortably in the ear
• stay inside of the ear without falling out
• produce quality sound

Here’s what Apple has to say about its new Earpods:

“a breakthrough design for a more natural fit and increased durability, and an incredible acoustic quality typically reserved for higher-end earphones.”

“overall audio quality [that's] so impressive, they rival high-end headphones that cost hundreds of dollars more.”

Price: $29.00 as a standalone 

(Earpods come with the purchase of the iPhone 5, new iPod touch or new iPod nano)

 

iPod Shuffle – “It’s big on color”

• Same iPod shuffle, just in awesome new colors to match the Nano

Price: only $49

Extra, Extra!

Get select Apple merchandise in RED and Apple gives a portion of the purchase price to the Global Fund to fight AIDS in Africa.

Click here to buy (PRODUCT) RED merchandise from Apple.

iPad Mini ?

Lots of rumors of an iPad Mini have been circulating through some usually accurate and trustworthy news/technology sources.

BUT as expected by many, it wasn’t announced with the other new Apple items on September 12th. Analysts are predicting Apple will host a second event mid- October announcing an iPad Mini, with shipping on the item following toward the end of the month.

Guess we’ll have to wait and see on this one. If true, here’s what we might have to look forward to:

iPad Mini alongside the New iPad and previous iPhone.

Predicted iPad mini compared to the new iPad and previous iPhone.

 

 

Creativity + The Church = BANGARANG!

 

Today an awesome site called Creative Church has launched. I’ve been anxiously awaiting it! It’s got tips and thoughts from creatives, along with resources, connection points and more great stuff for creative church leaders and pastors.

This really is a don’t miss!  (Read more about it here.)

I’m grateful to have contributed the first article to the launching blog series. Check it out here!

On another note, I’ve got a post that went live on Rick Warren’s Pastors.com today entitled “How to Combat Your Church’s Secret Creativity Killer.”

Don’t let this secret culprit hinder the innovation in your church! 

Lastly, my newsletter went out yesterday. I’m filling it with updates, news, freebies, tips, new products, and other exciting stuff just for the creative and church folk! Want in on the action? Sign up here.

Follow @robbinsbrandon

“Anti-Gay” Chick-Fil-A? Everything You’ve Heard is a Lie

Chick-Fil-A is a hot topic with news outlets, websites, and social media platforms all over the internet right now.

The commentary consists of statements accusing the company of hating gays and being homophobic. It’s hard to clarify exactly what all is true and what’s just hype and rumor, but some news outlets are announcing other companies breaking off deals and contracts with Chick-Fil-A, communities trying to ban the company, and groups organizing large boycotts.

After hearing/reading about all of this, and having looked further into the issue, I think it’s absolutely ridiculous. And pardon me, but it’s just idiotic. Customers, business people, and community leaders are acting plain stupid, bashing the company and misinforming their followers and friends without even knowing the facts. I doubt most of these people have done any kind of research to find out where these accusatory statements toward the company are derived from. They’re just jumping on the bandwagon.

Come on people. You’re adults. Grow up. It’s not high school.

Here’s the truth about the situation:

Everything you’ve heard about Chick-Fil-A was twisted and blown out of proportion in an effort to bash the company for having Christian values.

Even the reporter who did the interview the media is using to bash Chick-Fil-A agrees:

The reporter who conducted the original interview with Cathy [president and chief operating officer of Chick-Fil-A] is now saying that Cathy’s remarks have been distorted in the press. Many of those reports spin Cathy’s remarks in a negative direction calling Chick-fil-a “anti-gay.” The reporter says that the term “anti-gay” never came up in the interview. “[Cathy] never even brought up that subject. Everything he stated was on the positive side … He never stated anything negative.

Here’s a great article with more information. Read it. You need to be informed.

To sum things up: It’s pathetic how far insecure people will go to hurt and defame other people and companies that are doing something that matters. Apparently we live in a “you can’t call yourself a Christian or we’ll blast you, call you anti-gay, and ruin your business and your life” world. Call yourself a Christian, people want to stone you. Call yourself anti-Christian and you hit the fame charts like Justin Bieber. It doesn’t get more pathetic than that.

People need to know the truth…and we need to stand up for it. Stop letting insecure, biased, twisted, Christian hating media dictate “reality” to you and your family and friends.

Let’s get started: This isn’t the end. It’s the beginning. Let’s let people know the truth about Chick-Fil-A. We owe it to them. Will you share this post to help get the truth out? 

Study indicates: Hire Young People. Period.

A growing number of organizations are refusing to hire anyone under 30 these days. It can get pretty depressing real quick.

Qualified, innovative, and energetic young individuals are being turned down for jobs based on preconceptions about their age group. Organizations and leaders are focused on the wreck of an economy and view hiring these young people as risky and unnecessary. Anymore, young people are seen as a liability, not an asset.

According to one recent study, among others of its kind, maybe it’s time to change your thinking.

Here are a few reasons why:

Think about it. Young people could be just what you need to bring revitalization, innovation or new energy into your organization or business.

Follow @robbinsbrandon

Which Resource Are You Most Likely to Use [POLL]

The Impact Factor: A Manifesto For World Changers

I’m working on a manifesto for world changers. When it’s done, it will be up on the blog for download.

In the mean time, here’s a teaser to chew on:

The Impact Factor is not just a mediocre, warm and fuzzy, run of the mill piece of literature.

It’s a manifesto for world changers.

It addresses the lies about influence our culture sucks us into and reveals what true influence and world change really look like.

Too often we look at our society and know something’s wrong, but don’t know how to fix it. The Impact Factor will help you figure out where to start.

It will make you want to get up and do something, to change the world from right where you are…

but you’ve got to stop being afraid first. The Impact Factor will help you do that.

It’s time to take out the trash, and start changing the world for real.

It starts with YOU.

Are you with me?

Our View of World Change? All Kinds of Messed Up…And This is Why

What writing and creating (my passions) are really about for me:

Making impact. Causing people to think. Helping people. It comes down to world change.

Whether this happens on a large or small scale really doesn’t matter. At all. But if we’re going for raw authenticity (which is a requirement if we actually want to create lasting world change), here’s the truth: that’s hard to believe…for all of us. But it’s more than true. Too often we get caught up in the numbers, on how many people are paying attention, watching and listening to us. Numbers are deceptive. They can be skewed. Manipulated. 

Trying to evaluate our true influence and impact based on numbers is like trying to judge an artist’s ability to paint a masterpiece based on how well he can solve an algebraic equation. It just doesn’t work.

Writing, creating, even living, are all forms of art. Art isn’t meant to sit and stagnate. Art is meant to inspire. To challenge. To propel us into something better than our current state. Art creates influence. And influence is an art. We, by nature, are artists. And artists can’t be evaluated by numbers. Only by depth. And by the artist’s willingness to step out, to risk, to intentionally create something that matters. You are an artist. So, create art. Let your art speak for itself. Just create. And don’t let the numbers distract you. Because (as stated by Jon Acuff) “Your ability to create art is not dependent on your ability to create fame.”

And remember this: When you create art, you are walking down the avenue of world change, no matter what the numbers look like.

When we change even one life, we change the world. World change is much closer and simpler than we often believe.

—
BRANDON ROBBINS (@RobbinsBrandon) April 11, 2012

The Truth About Writing That Nobody Wants to Talk About

Being a good writer is a relatively simple feat. Being a great writer takes everything in me and more.

—
BRANDON ROBBINS (@RobbinsBrandon) April 17, 2012

Writing in a way that changes the world isn’t something that just happens by chance. It’s something you must intentionally give your life and energy to. Do it, because you can.

But you have to want to.

A Thought on Networking

If I want to network, but in my mind it's all about me, I've got it all wrong. Networking isn't "gimme gimme," it's "here I am to serve."

—
BRANDON ROBBINS (@RobbinsBrandon) April 16, 2012

Let’s connect! Why? Because I want to serve YOU.

4 Indispensable Life Lessons I Learned While Recording A Music Album

Today’s post is a guest post by Joseph Drinkard. Joseph is a Christian singer-songwriter from Shreveport, Louisiana. His album I Serve A King comes out on Tuesday, February 7th. For more information on I Serve A King, please visit www.josephdrinkard.com. You can find Joseph on Twitter and Facebook.

UPDATE: 

Joseph’s album is out now!

Here is my tweet on the release day with a link to purchase the album:

Just had a great convo w/ @jdrinkard about his album release TODAY. He's incredible. Buy his album #iserveaking here: j.mp/wbAsBr

—
BRANDON ROBBINS (@RobbinsBrandon) February 07, 2012

I Serve A King, my first album, comes out in 8 days, and it still doesn’t feel real. I know that I wrote the songs, flew up north, and recorded an album, but my heart hasn’t grasped the fact that one of my biggest dreams is about to come true. (Weird, huh?) To say that this has been a growing process is an understatement. My heart is to share a few things that I’ve learned along the way in hopes that you’ll be (re)inspired to chase after your own dreams! Some of what you’ll read is practical, while others will focus more on you as a person. The important thing is that you take what you can and run with it!

Learn Your Voice, Stick To It.
I’m talking to more than just singers. I’m talking about your God-given style and flavor that all your own. It might sound a little silly to you, but I had to come to terms with the fact that I wasn’t Chris Tomlin, or Toby Mac, or random-guy-with-a-guitar-at-Starbucks-who-is-phenomenal. First things first: God doesn’t want another Christ Tomlin (although he is great). He wants you. Yes, there’s a risk to putting your heart and soul into an album. There’s a chance (actually, a guaranteed certainty) that not everyone will like your sound. So what?! God’s given you the talents that he’s given you for a reason! Be yourself, and use them for His glory. Looking back on your work ten years from now, you’ll be a lot happier if you didn’t try to force it into a mold.

Honesty Really Is The Best Policy.
In a creative environment, in this case a recording studio, it’s imperative that you make it OK to be honest with one another when it comes to thoughts and ideas. When it came to producing I Serve A King, we made honesty our priority. There are certain times for agreeing to things or saying “yes” for the sake of being nice (i.e.; eating your aunt’s horrible casserole at Thanksgiving, holding your girlfriends purse while she goes to the changing room). Recording I Serve A King was not that time for us. I’ll admit it, I didn’t like some of the producer’s ideas for a few of the songs. At the same time, not all of my original visions for the album were spectacular. But, 100% honesty was all that was accepted. We worked through it, combined ideas, and made something great! If the record came out exactly how I originally envisioned it, it would have been boring and dull. Be honest. Be willing to change. Work as a team. Encourage new ideas.

Redefine Success.
Success is not in numbers. Success is obedience. I wouldn’t have recorded I Serve A King if I wasn’t absolutely sure that it’s what the Lord wanted me to do. Putting all of your time, talent, and energy into something that may be a good thing but not a God-thing is a practice in vanity. It may look great, but you’ll find yourself lacking in the end. Set your focus on His Kingdom. I’ve found over and over that if we’ll just stay attached to Jesus, attached to The Vine, we’ll bear fruit. The growth will come. The numbers will come. We’ve succeeded because we’ve been obedient.

Have a Lot of Fun
Please remember to have a great time. Get stuff done. Do it with excellence. But have fun. Who wants to look back on life, see everything that they’ve made, and regret it? I don’t, and chances are that you don’t either. The fact of the matter is that we serve a holy, righteous, excellent, fun God. He designed us for joy and relationship. Don’t let the enemy steal that from you.

These are just a few of the things that the Lord has been putting on my heart these past few days.

My prayer is simple: God, birth God-sized dreams in the hearts of those reading this. Raise up creative, godly, hard working, fun-having people who pursue you with everything.

Take what I’ve said and run with it. Make music, design, lead, innovate, change, and inspire—in the name of Jesus, for His Kingdom, His Power, and His Glory!

___________________________________________________________________________

If you appreciated this or would like to spread the word about I Serve A King,  please share this post using the social media icons below!  Please use the hashtag: #iserveaking. Connect with Joseph on Twitter:

Follow @jdrinkard.

Connect with me:

Follow @robbinsbrandon